The Future of Books

The SMDC is uniquely positioned as a digital center in a very old world of "analog" books. This short article covers the changing of the book industry:

Next month IKEA will introduce a new, deeper version of its ubiquitous “BILLY” bookcase. The flat-pack furniture giant is already promoting glass doors for its bookshelves. The firm reckons customers will increasingly use them for ornaments, tchotchkes and the odd coffee-table tome—anything, that is, except books that are actually read. In the first five months of this year sales of consumer e-books in America overtook those from adult hardback books. Just a year earlier hardbacks had been worth more than three times as much as e-books, according to the Association of American Publishers. Amazon now sells more copies of e-books than paper books. The drift to digits will speed up as bookshops close. Borders, once a retail behemoth, is liquidating all of its American stores.

It's really interesting to watch as the digital ease-of-use revolutionizes an industry that has existed for hundred of years. It may not be too long before students are able to rent Kindle-like devices and read any book the library has.